A Tale of Two-to-the-Two Chute Schusses

It had been a few years since I had been to chute trois, and so we spent a bit of time route-finding before instinct finally latched on, and guided us to this notorious drainage. The wind had done some very strange things, but the skiing was fun, and chute toes certainly kept us on our trois.

Lower down, the schuss of chute trois got noticeably “techy-er.” There were some pretty large ice-flows to contend with.

We skied it pretty safe, and no one “skied like Sage.” Instead, we spent quite a bit of time stopped (tres uncool! ;) ) talking, pointing, and making decisions about the safest route around the numerous obstacles.

There was also as some just downright “lack of snow” problems. I’m not sure she was ready yet!

Oh well, good fun regardless.

We found a little respite from the tech-factor in a little detour to the side of the main-line that I thought I maybe remembered. (turns out I did)

Josh A

wrote on January 15th, 2013 at 10:36 am

6

Awesome work as usual dudes.

But, riddle me this: why would you want a pow specific deck like the Fish for variable conditions? Pretty sure there are splitboards designed for exactly that sort of thing: the Venture Storm for example.

I have no idea… perhaps I was wrong, and you are right. My point was more that a splitboard was the wrong tool more than that the Fish is the right one…

Christian may have a better answer (and agree with you…idk) since he knows this stuff much more deeply than me.

Josh A

wrote on January 15th, 2013 at 11:52 am

8

Cool, would be interested to hear his thoughts on the matter.

As recently as 4 or 5 years ago I prob would have agreed with this sentiment, but splitboard technology has advanced a lot in the last several years such that a good modern board + Spark binders rides just as well as a solid deck, IMHO

I’ve even been riding my Venture on the lifts occasionally this year… the thing is bomber

christian

wrote on January 15th, 2013 at 6:04 pm

9

first off, i don’t want to start an argument about which rig is better. i just don’t care what other people ride and over the years i’ve figured out what works best for me.

so, in my experience…
skinning in the alpine (in winter) is a nightmare and i can’t trust something that won’t hold an edge on the downhill. changeovers are slower, the rigs are heavier and more complicated and i break them too often to keep pumping dollars into the “sport”. maybe the new ones are awesome, but i’m not going to throw down $1400 to find out. plus, now that everyone and their mom rides one i’m sorta over it.
i do really enjoy using them in the woods though. skinning around and shreddin’ pow is a blast!

Chris

wrote on January 15th, 2013 at 7:47 pm

10

IMO hardboots can solve a lot of the uphill problems splitters face. Lighter, easier skinning, better booting, and stronger edge hold.
Takes a little time to get things dialed in but I don’t think they negatively affect downhill performance, and make you a more efficient all around mountain traveler.

Josh A

wrote on January 16th, 2013 at 4:20 pm

11

@Christian, fair dues. I agree with not caring what other people ride, besides the fact that trends dictate what boards get manufactured. In particular I’ve been disappointed to see a lot of bigger/stiffer boards being discontinued by certain companies because there isn’t the demand for them.

While I am pretty sure I don’t have as much experience with mid-winter alpine skinning as you I don’t see why it would be worse than what all our 2-plank friends are dealing with… Chris, can you explain why you think hardboots would be better for skinning?

You are certainly free to do as you choose, but as for not holding an edge I will say that this is where the newer gear really makes a difference. With my first (DIY) splitboard I would wash out heal-side turns pretty frequently if I wasn’t in pow, but with my current setup this isn’t an issue. You shouldn’t need to throw down anywhere near $1400, there are ALWAYS deals to be found. And if you are giving it up because so many others are doing it, why are you still snowboarding at all?

“i do really enjoy using them in the woods though. skinning around and shreddin’ pow is a blast!”
if nothing else, at least we can agree on that!

christian

wrote on January 16th, 2013 at 9:02 pm

12

skin to the top of mount washington 25 times and see if you bring your splitboard up there for trip 26.

i’m currently riding a ’99 supermodel, and a ’02 fish (first gen demo!!)
the supermodel is the best (best best BEST) board i’ve ever ridden and i wish i could buy 10 more of them.

i’ve snapped 4 splitboards in half so far. i still haven’t decided if i’m going to replace #5 when it goes. they’re not trustworthy and there are a lot of little parts that can break on them. i just can’t have one deciding to blow apart when i’m riding a line that’s hanging over a 40′ cliff.

(and i have all but given up on snowboarding this year, 7 days so far!)

Josh A

wrote on January 18th, 2013 at 10:09 am

13

funny, this season is actually on pace to be my fewest days in about 9 years as well.

Sounds like you have some pretty valid reasons to not go with the splitty… thanks for indulging me. Though, I’m probably still sticking with it till I learn some of those lessons myself. Have had to struggle with ice build up on the pucks, etc. that’s wasted more time than I would’ve liked, but I’ve never had one fail on me. I have however snapped a solid board in half in the past.

I am amazed you are still riding 10+ year old boards, I’ve never had a deck last me even close to that long.

christian

wrote on January 18th, 2013 at 11:28 am

14

i should probably specify…those boards were unearthed from dusty basement tombs. ridden twice, left for dead, sold for cheap!

i laugh a little when people get all stoked out on how much bamboo and recycled p-tex their board has, and what a justice they’re doing to the environment.
when most people are getting out 10 days a year at best, you realize there are a LOT of awesome old boards out there in basically brand new condition. take the rust off the edges, scrape off that cheeseball stomp pad, lock and load.
it’s fun to watch peoples reactions when they see those old boards too.

anyone out there got some old boards they’re ready to sell??

Josh A

wrote on January 18th, 2013 at 2:33 pm

15

ah, that makes a lot more sense. I’m all for buying used gear if it’s in decent shape.

I find google alerts works well if there is something specific you are looking for, you’ll get notified when new hits come up (often people putting things up for sale on forums or craigslist)

Porter

wrote on January 15th, 2013 at 11:08 am

16

I’d ask how many patties are on that burger but I already know the answer.

Friendly Note:

Here at FIS we take great pride in what we post. While linking to FIS is always encouraged, all text and photos on this website are copyrighted. Before reproducing any material from this site through digital, print, or any other medium, written permission is required. The only exception is for situations in which you wish to post FIS content in an internet forum. If you do so you MUST link to the page on FIS you have quoted. Feel free to contact us to learn more! Thanks!

Support FIS!

We earn a commission from several outdoor retailers. If you click on any of the following links prior to making a purchase, we receive a percentage. Allen looks super awkward in the above photo, but he's just trying to say "Thanks for your support!" (Note: Your identity remains completely anonymous.)